We all learn differently. This is especially apparent to a teacher – whether a homeschool teacher or a certified public school teacher. What’s not apparent all the time is exactly which type of learning is best for each individual.

What most educational systems don’t account for is the vast discrepancy between students and their individual learning styles or ‘intelligences’. Some students are great at math or reading, while others are great learning a new sport or a new song. The key to a good education is allowing for all of the intelligences to be built on.(more…)

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A friend loaned this to my husband to read, and I just happened to pick it up on a night when I had nothing else to read. I couldn’t put this book down. I stayed up that night reading over 100 pages. Then the next night the same thing. I finally finished it this weekend and loved every minute of it!(more…)

I’m one of the luckiest moms on the planet. Out of my three children, only one has ever had an ear infection. It was the probably one of the most stressful weekends I’ve ever experienced as we waited to get into the doctor’s office on Monday. The pain that my poor daughter went through was gut wrenching for this mom!

I called a friend of mine who is very in touch with all things organic, natural, and homeopathic and begged her for a natural remedy to help us through the weekend. And of course, she had one! I had totally forgotten about this solution until a mutual friend of ours came to a Mom’s Night Out with her sick baby who also had an ear infection. Not only did my friend tell this mom how to take care of it, another mom in the group walked into the kitchen, prepared this solution below and took it to my friend to administer to the desperate mom’s crying baby. The mom sent an email to all of us the next day thanking our friends for helping her out and ecstatic that the solution took care of her baby’s ear infection without a doctor’s visit!

(Obviously, you’ll want to go with your gut on anything anyone recommends for treating your children – if you’re not comfortable with it, don’t do it! Research another solution and go with what gives you (and your partner) the most peace. Just my own little disclaimer here before dispensing ‘medical’ advice…)

Shawn and I were just reminiscing about our childhoods when we would spend entire days outdoors until the sun started going down. How we would ride bikes, play tag or football, rollerskate, hopscotch, and just generally enjoy the sunshine. And we were lamenting the fact that our children really can’t have the same freedoms we enjoyed in the great out-of-doors due to societal and safety issues. So, when this article showed up on MSNBC just a few days later, I had to let out a little chuckle.

My grandmother was in town for a day recently, and my wonderful photographer-husband took some incredible pics of all of us. But, this is one of my favorites by far.

I love the twist of Kate reading Me Too Iguana (one of my sister’s childhood faves) to everyone. Of course, some of my fondest childhood memories include listening to that beautiful gray-haired woman read me bedtime stories – specifically from a big book of Uncle Wiggily’s Tales. I still get teary-eyed when my kiddos ask to pull down that special book off the shelf to read another adventure of the long-eared gentleman.

Just wanted to share a little moment of our life with you all today, and encourage you to go read one of your favorite books with your little ones.